Churches in Polk County, FL?

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Diotima

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I’m visiting Polk County, FL for Christmas and would welcome any recommendations for churches in the area. I’ve looked at the websites for all of them but so far nothing’s standing out.

I know there are no EF Masses nearby, but I’d like to attend a reverently celebrated OF Mass.
 
Thank you for the website–it is a very helpful resource. My original post wasn’t clear–what I meant was that I’ve seen the list of Catholic churches in this county, and have looked at all of their websites to get a “feel” for what the different churches look like and how they present themselves. But, to be perfectly honest, the buildings are ugly and many of the churches’ websites display contempt for Catholic tradition and liturgy.

Of course, I am willing to attend any valid Mass, but I prefer a reverently celebrated one, one without modernist architecture, guitar music, etc. (I personally find that these things distract me from Christ’s presence and make it difficult for me to pray the Mass. And during the Advent and Christmas seasons, I want to be especially focused on Christ.) So if anyone has visited churches in Polk County and can share their experiences, I’d be much obliged.
 
Not to re-post something from another post, lol, but I suggest the following to assist with finding a good, solid parish:

Punch in the ZIP on the website I gave. Then look for a parish with a latin Mass(it will tell you if there are)and/or one with a lot of time scheduled for confession. Generally that is a dead giveaway. Adoration is also a good sign.
Also, try to stay away from churches that have weird mottos like…“we are a loving, worship community”, etc. That’s a sign of a more liberal church, as I’m sure you know.

If the website shows contempt, AVOID that church, obviously.

This is to help you if you end up with no other suggestions or if you’re just choosing blindly, but generally it’s a good rule to go by.
 
with a lot of time scheduled for confession.
I hadn’t even thought of that! After combing through a bunch of websites from churches that called themselves “worship communities” and gratuitously insulted the Latin Mass, I despaired of figuring out whether there were any diamonds in the rough.

Thank you.
 
St. Leo the Great Mission in Nalcrest (in Polk County) has a TLM on the last Sunday of the month. You may want to contact them to see if this is still done on Christmas. parishesonline.com/scripts/hostedsites/Org.asp?ID=14118

If that doesn’t work, I suppose it depends on where you are in Polk, County. If you’re in NW Polk, St Anthony’s in San Antonio (fitting, huh), is about 40 mins away. If you’re in Lakeland, Tampa isn’t that far, and there are several good parishes there, plenty of Eastern Rite parishes as well. The Diocese of Venice is known for its orthodoxy, perhaps try one of their parishes if you will be in SE Polk County.
 
Thanks, Bert. I am in Bartow and I’m trying to find a Mass to attend tonight, as my family wants to open presents on Christmas morning. You don’t happen to know anything about St. Thomas Aquinas Church, do you? That one is closest, so my family is pressuring me to attend that one . . .
 
Thanks, Bert. I am in Bartow and I’m trying to find a Mass to attend tonight, as my family wants to open presents on Christmas morning. You don’t happen to know anything about St. Thomas Aquinas Church, do you? That one is closest, so my family is pressuring me to attend that one . . .
Here is their website, in case you haven’t seen it:

stthomasaqbartowfl.org/stthomastoc.htm

Looks like a real nice group of folks, but doesn’t seem like it’s what you are looking for as far as a more traditional Mass.

According to a Latin Mass finder website, Prince of Peace Parish has a Latin Mass, though their website apparently lacks any reference to it (that I could find): popcc.org/

I tried calling them, hoping the office would be open, but no luck.

A for sure option is Christ the King parish: venicelatinmass.org/

Played around on Google a little bit, and yes, the pickings are slim in your area.
 
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